At GE Aerospace's new automation laboratory in Singapore, a decade-long human craft is being translated into a repeatable robotic routine. Technician Suresh Sinnaiyan - who has spent more than 10 years restoring jet-engine compressor blades by hand, running them across a sanding belt with practiced eye and feel - is now instructing a robot to carry out the same delicate blending operation.
The shift forms part of GE's wider response to one of aviation's most pressing operational challenges: repair shops that are overburdened and parts that remain scarce. Across the industry, unexpected wear on the latest generation of jet engines has sidelined aircraft and prompted carriers to keep older models flying for longer. The consequence has been maintenance queues that stretch for months as engines wait their turn for overhaul and repair.
That strain has spilled into public disagreement. Airlines contend that engine manufacturers have profited from tightened supply and elevated prices, while engine makers say they are investing heavily to expand aftermarket support after large development outlays. Tony Fernandes, the co-founder of Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, put the point bluntly: "They have got to remember airlines are their future and treat us as partners," he told Reuters, speaking about the industry at large.
Singapore as a pressure valve
GE says Singapore is central to its strategy for easing the backlog. The firm is upgrading its 2,000-employee repair hub with increased automation, digital capabilities and artificial intelligence under a programme that GE has said could reach up to $300 million in investment. The objective is to raise repair throughput at the site by 33% without adding building space - by reorganising how work is done, reshaping production areas and automating tasks where it proves efficient.
The facility is a testbed for what GE calls "Flight Deck," the company's adaptation of the Lean manufacturing approach of continuous improvement and waste reduction. The method, originally associated with Japanese carmakers and championed internally by CEO Larry Culp, focuses on incremental gains across every shift and hour. "It’s not about sprinting at quarter’s end to make a Wall Street guide. It is making every hour and every day count," Culp told Reuters.
GE and competitors such as Pratt & Whitney face the twin challenge of supplying engines and parts to new-aircraft assembly lines while also maintaining the installed fleet. Increasing the volume of repaired parts, rather than replacing them with newly manufactured components, can free up new parts for new engines and ease supply pressure. GE says repairs can halve the time required for key processes and halve costs to airlines for certain components.
Faster turns in tighter space
"Repair can really improve turnaround time … the less time the engine is off the wing, the better," said Iain Rodger, head of GE Aerospace Component Repair Singapore, during a visit to the plant.
An example of the changes is a reorganised area that overhauls used and scorched CFM56 turbine nozzles - components that endure extreme heat inside one of the world's most widely used engines. Workers at the site say turnaround times in that area have shortened since 2021, when the average was about 40 days. GE has set a target of cutting this to 21 days by 2028.
To make room for future work on newer LEAP engines that are beginning to enter overhaul cycles, that nozzle area has given up roughly a third of its floor space. Without approved repair processes for LEAP components, airlines may be forced to replace worn parts with expensive new items that are in limited supply. "Now we can see problems and identify where issues are," said Nozzles Business Leader Han Hui Min, describing the benefits of the new layout.
Teaching robots the human touch
Some of the most consequential repairs are also the most difficult to automate because they rely on a technician's sense of touch. Compressor blades in a CFM56 engine, for instance, must be blended - an operation that reshapes blade tips that have deformed over years of service so they meet tight tolerances. Until recently, the process was entirely manual.
"It’s really hard to do. (Until now) it is 100% manual," Sinnaiyan said of the blending task. Each blade must be filed to within a few thousandths of an inch, a precision that depends on sight, feel and coordinated movement. GE's approach is to capture those human skills in a repeatable robotic process, reducing reliance on scarce specialised technicians while raising throughput and lowering per-part costs.
Analysts note that engine manufacturers earn significant profits from servicing used parts and from licensing some repair procedures to independent shops in exchange for royalties. That business reality means the detailed methods for repairs are closely guarded and form a lucrative part of the aftermarket. Still, scaling repair capacity faces inherent limits because work must adhere to approved procedures and strict quality controls.
Agency Partners analyst Nick Cunningham said the slowdown in new aircraft production that boosted demand for older jets - and consequently for repairs - is beginning to ease. He suggested that tailwinds that raised repair demand may moderate as new-plane output recovers.
Industry implications
If GE's reorganisation, automation and process improvements in Singapore meet their targets, they could help the broader industry work through maintenance bottlenecks and, indirectly, relieve some pressure on airfares. Yet executives and others warn that the underlying supply squeeze is unlikely to disappear quickly, making improvement an incremental process rather than a swift fix. "It is about moving away from fire fighting and heroics to a different type of preferred performance," Culp said.
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